Explosive performances from Million Wolde and Gete Wami gained Ethiopia top honours in Saturday's Great North cross-country race in Durham.
The gifted pair both showed a clean pair of heels to quality fields in the second IAAF World Cross Challenge fixture of the season, including Britain's two stars Jon Brown and Paula Radcliffe.
Wolde (19), training partner and pacemaker to his countryman Haile Gebrselassie, showed all of the hallmarks that already have him pencilled in as natural successor to the world 5,000m and 10,000m record holder.
He won his 9 km contest in 27 minutes two seconds, two seconds quicker than Kenyan Thomas Nyariki, who himself was a second ahead of Brown.
Good news for British selectors is Brown wants to represent his country in the World Cross Championships which will be hosted by Belfast at the end of March.
Brown declared himself satisfied with his performance. He said: "I have won here for the last two years but I think this is possibly my best ever run in this event."
Like Brown, the Durham meeting has always been a happy hunting ground for Radcliffe - wins in 1993 and 1995 heralded her arrival on the senior international scene. But Saturday was another lean period for her.
Radcliffe was despatched to fourth place by Wami, who covered the 6.5 km course in 21:51, 13 seconds ahead of Commonwealth 1,500m champion Jackline Maranga of Kenyan and 19 in front of Finland's Anne Marie Sandell.
Radcliffe, a further eight seconds behind, blamed a bug and said: "To be honest I thought I would be struggling earlier in the race. I felt good for the first three laps but when Wami put her foot down I couldn't respond and she went away."
John Mayock was furious with himself and a steward after misjudging the finish of his 3 km race. He and Basingstoke's Philip Tulba thought they were on their last lap when in fact there was still another to run.
